B.J. Penn and LW division

What if B.J. Penn dominates Kenny Florian like he has everyone else. Who else is left for Penn? (at lightweight)

DCRage

12/16/08 12:27:15PM

At this point it's hard to tell, but down the road if they can get some wins there are several possibilities: Huerta, Guida, Danzig, (Nate) Diaz, Sherk again, probably a few others.

aaa9erh8er

12/16/08 12:37:27PM

huerta imo no guida maybe if he can push the pace against him and throw his game off for sure. nate i wouldnt add to the conversation yet he hasnt matured enough fot it yet (not hating but he grows with each fight give him more time b4 he takes his shot) sherk for sure has a chance hes only lost to arguable the best guys ever in his respective classes so he could come back and take it (i highly doubt it but hey)now as far as kenflo bj is superior in every way imo not a smart fight for him

wiggum

12/16/08 12:39:34PM

i'd say sherk again....he still the number 2 in the ufc and in my opionon the world.....other than that, deigo sanchez...after they put him in with someone good and he performs well, maybe match him up with sherk for a number one contenders fight....cuz i think at that time penn will have fought florian hopefully and he will then be defending the ww title so there will be some time to sort it out (ha yeah i said it!)

RedCloud

12/16/08 1:27:21PM

Once BJ gets a hold of GSP's belt, and if Sherk doesnt smash Florian, i say Florian will be his last LW fight.

theguido

12/16/08 2:51:17PM

I say give Ken his shot he's earned it. Then Diaz vs Guida winner against sherk for next shot.

loonytnt

12/16/08 3:37:53PM

bj vs anyone imo, i love watchin this guy fight

Wolfenstein

12/16/08 4:05:14PM

If he gets through Kenny, the list is short. Probably Gray Maynard, although he might need one big win to leapfrog Sherk and save us from a foregone conclusion. Jim Miller, Frankie Edgar, and Nate Diaz are all climbing towards shots.

The problem isn't so much that there are no fighters at LW that can challenge BJ, rather there is a severe lack of top fighters at LW in the UFC. It annoys me when people talk about how "stacked the UFC LW division is" because aside from HW this is the second thinnest division (yes moreso that MW).

With the upcoming Bellator show on the horizon, it will only get more difficult to sign top LW's. Joachim Hansen, Takanori Gomi, Gesias Cavalcante, Shinya Aoki, Satoru Kitaoka, Eddie Alvarez, Josh Thomson...all arguably top ten fighters. The UFC has arguably only three of the top ten LW's, that being Sherk, Florian, and Penn.

Zuffa is essentially shooting themselves in the foot by keeping the LW division in the WEC around and further adding to the lack of top tier depth in the UFC LW division. Donald Cerrone, Jamie Varner, and Marcus Hicks could all be contenders in the LW division amongst a few other rising stars. Unfortunately they're stuck in the WEC's LW division that consists of 13 fighters under contract. What a waste.

higdon10

12/16/08 5:11:59PM

I think that there are a few guys who are legit in the UFC LW division. No reason to knock the division IMO.

MFOTHER

12/16/08 6:00:09PM

i would hate it, but wouldnt be shocked if BJ jumped ship again after he fights florian in search of better lw talent. Its his weight class. he might try and have some fun at 170 here and there , but he was an always will be in my eyes a lw.

in terms of ufc possibilites........

im shocked people list danzig as a possibility without also including guida or tyson grifin.

and after grey's boring win. he needs ALOT more than one fight to get him at a title (i really like grey maynard)

i would hope nate eventually gets a shot, but he needs more time and more fights. His body type might do well against florian (he's not ready yet), but a sherk or penn would toss him around

ultimateweapon

12/16/08 8:56:47PM

doesn't matter who he faces at lightweight penn will kick ass

can't wait for Penn vs St. Pierre though, will be an epic fight

MMAcca

12/17/08 2:27:51AM

Posted by WolfensteinUnfortunately they're stuck in the WEC's LW division that consists of 13 fighters under contract. What a waste.

Interesting stat wolfenstein What a waste it is having that division, Zuffa needs to spend some money and sign some LWs if the want WEC to cement itself as the number 2 org.

Aether

12/17/08 2:35:40AM

I don't see any lightweight in the UFC that even has a reasonable chance against BJ. We'll have to see how Diego does at this weight, he could be BJ's biggest challenge, but I still think that BJ is virtually unbeatable at LW.

Anderson is more likely to be dethroned than BJ, IMO.

Mazzy_Star

12/30/08 10:59:52AM

The thing is, a motivated BJ Penn has no real competition at LW.Sure Kenny Florian, Eddie Lavarez, Aoiki and Hansen are good fighters, but seriously, can you see anyone of them beating BJ, when he's in shape and motivated ?I certainly cannot.

I feel if BJ looses against GSP, he will quit.If BJ can beat GSP in january, i feel he will drop the LW title. I just cannot see him being motivated to fight for it, and looking at his history and personality he needs motivation to fight. If he overcomes GSP he will try and defend the WW title against Thiago Silva, should he do that he will move up to MW and challange Anderson Silva, if refused he'll quit.

I just hope Sherk will stick to his strengths if he fights BJ again, maybe then he would at least stand a bit of a chance against the 'Prodigy'.

TsekaPrivet

4/15/09 10:25:58PM

There's no one left other than a resurgent Sherk and a meteoric-rising Maynard.

It's granted he's going to own Florian.

cowcatcher

4/15/09 10:45:58PM

Posted by TsekaPrivet

There's no one left other than a resurgent Sherk and a meteoric-rising Maynard.

It's granted he's going to own Florian.

i think hes going to beat kenny too, but man you have run around here all day stating your opinion as fact and its not going to win you the upcoming playground popularity contest. seriously though, and this is just friendly advice too man dont take it as me coming down, but if you word things differently and make your opinions sound like opinions and not fact, you will be taken a lot more seriously around here and you opinions will hold that much more weight. you can go ahead and apply that to life outside of the playground free of charge, its my easter gift to you

prozacnation1978

4/15/09 11:00:18PM

i say diego sanchez next but if he loses

i say have serra drop to light and have a rematch with bj

i think serra did win the first, bj knows it, he was robbed

Franklinfan47

4/16/09 10:29:24AM

I honestly have a hard time picturing any lightweight, UFC or otherwise, beating penn at 155 anytime soon. So in response to your question, does it matter?

The_Italian_Stallion

4/16/09 5:29:39PM

Did BJ's last fight with GSP leave your minds so fast?

I mean you don't get humiliated like that (Fight and his Carrying On after) and be fine and dandy for your next fight.

This Florian fight is going to be a real test for him. Can he win... absolutely, is he a better fighter than Kenny... absolutely, will he win... that one's fuzzy...

Kenny's training with GSP so watch out for him...

PS: Gray Maynard for the win! We all know how BJ performs against an insanely superior wrestler and Maynard's wrestling is EASILY good enough to get BJ down and his Submission defense just might be good enough to smother BJ out.

anomoly

4/18/09 10:24:30AM

+1

slapshot

4/18/09 11:34:22AM

Posted by cowcatcher

Posted by TsekaPrivet

There's no one left other than a resurgent Sherk and a meteoric-rising Maynard.

It's granted he's going to own Florian.

i think hes going to beat kenny too, but man you have run around here all day stating your opinion as fact and its not going to win you the upcoming playground popularity contest. seriously though, and this is just friendly advice too man dont take it as me coming down, but if you word things differently and make your opinions sound like opinions and not fact, you will be taken a lot more seriously around here and you opinions will hold that much more weight. you can go ahead and apply that to life outside of the playground free of charge, its my easter gift to you

Actually I see where he/she is coming from and really it is the probability just not one some want to be true.

Back on topic, I think with the Sherk vs Edgar fight what you see is title shot match and the winner gets BJ.

Sherk IMO should win but if Edgar dose pull it out its not like thats a big upset the guy is solid everywhere except wrestling .. um lol yeah well heh he better get on it or Sean will take him down over and over all the way to a decision.

Kenny Florian is no GSP, I dont care if he trains with him for the rest of his life they would still be two completely different fighters.

Every fighter loses and BJ has lost before so I see no reason it will be anything but a added motivation not to lose again, BJ will be fine.

Id love to see BJ get beat again but kenflo? really? he's a good fighter but so far from the the ability's, quality, size and style of fighter GSP is, that I cant see it.

I dont see where he matches up with a skill advantage over BJ..

GSP used his wrestling to nullify BJ's BJJ and Kenflo is not big enough, strong enough or skilled enough of a wrestler to do that.

I think the gameplan to beat BJ is as always, not to be more talented than him but to wear him down and outlast him. IMO this is something Ken could do if he can keep from being finished in the first half of the fight but thats a huge "if" and I think BJ should finish him in the second or third.

Kenflo is improving and Im not saying that his someday wont come but I dont see it being this fight.

inyaface69

4/23/09 10:22:55AM

I think the winners of Sanchez v.s. Guida and Frankie Edgar v.s. Sherk should fight for the number one contender spot, then whether it be Penn or Florian, they should throwdown for the title.